Installation manual

Engineering - 45
Isobar Line Filter
The Isobar Line Filter is used to protect the system from lightning strikes and line surges. It should be
plugged into an AC outlet, and the UPS Power Supply should then be plugged into an outlet on the Isobar
Line Filter. DO NOT PLUG ANY PART OF THE SMARTCASTER DIRECTLY INTO AN AC
PLUG.
UPS Power Supply
The UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) provides a backup power supply in case a power outage occurs.
At the time of an outage, enough power should be stored to allow for, on average, 45 minutes of power to
the SMARTCASTER. However, the unit does need time to charge. During the installation of the
SMARTCASTER, it might be a good idea to leave this plugged into the Isobar Line Filter.
All pieces of the SMARTCASTER that must have backup power should be plugged into the UPS.
Examples: Main SMARTCASTER CPU, any external 12V supplies, any switching equipment, etc.
Please understand that if the UPS has a large load, it may not be able to provide sufficient time for backup.
For example, if there are 24 CD players, a CD server computer, a SMARTCASTER, and an 8x4 Switcher,
there is probably too much of a load for one UPS. It might be a good idea to plug all the CD players into a
second UPS.
Drive Storage Time
Unlike a conventional cart system, spots, once recorded, are virtually invisible. Instead of racks of carts
mounted on the control room wall, the computer is holding all the data, and it looks just the same whether
it is full or empty.
Because of this, it is very easy with the SMARTCASTER to simply record, day after day, without paying
attention to the remaining drive space. PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS. Set up a housekeeping routine
daily to delete any outdated spots, and never let the drive fill up.
If it is noticed that the recording process stops before the spot is finished, please do not continue to
attempt to record. Delete material before recording further. If the drive is always running full, and
nothing can be deleted, please contact us about adding additional drive space.
Optimizing the Hard Drive
About every month, someone at the station MUST RUN A DISK OPTIMIZATION PROGRAM!!! We
recommend either the Compress program in PCTOOLS, Speed Disk in Norton Utilities, Optune from
Gazelle Software, or MS-Dos 6.2’s Defrag. At the time of this print, only Optune and Defrag Optimize
drives 1.0 Gigabyte and above. (MS-Dos 6.2 is shipped with every SMARTCASTER at this time.)
During the life of a SMARTCASTER, the audio files “fragment” into smaller and smaller pieces as new
files are placed on the hard drive. As these “pieces” become smaller, it takes the hard drive longer and
longer to locate the open space between the audio files. As a result, Functions and spots may fire slow or
not at all. In this condition the audio may distort, cut in and out or turn to a loud ‘hash’ sound.
‘Defragmenting’ or ‘Optimizing’ the hard drive is the answer to this problem.
The disk Optimizer takes these fragmented pieces of files, and lines them up in a sequential manner. In
this manner, the hard drive does not have to work as hard to find the audio files, and is able to play back
spots and Functions when needed.
Disk optimization does take some time, so it is probably best to perform this operation when the station is
off the air or at a time when the SMARTCASTER is not used.